Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

Flights not affected

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Flight operations from Thiruvananthapuram international airport was not affected by the nation-wide indefinite stir called by the Airports Authority Employees Union (AAEU) in protest against Union Civil Aviation Ministry’s decision to give preference to greenfield airports.

All flights, domestic and international, from the airport went as per schedule since the strike began on Tuesday midnight, Airport Director N. Nagaraj said.

However, the airport authorities could not assure cent per cent services to the passengers. Airport sources said snags in the conveyor belts, baggage x-ray, and supply of water to the technical block housing the Air Traffic Control, caused problems to the airport authorities.

The AAI has already prepared a contingency plan to face any eventuality and to avoid disruption of flights. The strike is by a section of the non-executive personnel (Class III and IV).

A spokesman of the union in Thiruvananthapuram airport said all the 600 employees affiliated to the union were on strike and had not reported for duty since Tuesday midnight.

Those on strike include personnel of the Fire Services, engineering, civil and electrical maintenance, projects, administration and house keeping. However, according top AAI sources, only 386 personnel were on strike.

A Correspondent in Nedumbassery writes: The indefinite strike called by the AAEU failed to make any impact on the operations of the Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL). Almost all the flights, both domestic and international, could carry out their services without interruptions. Some of the flights delayed/ cancelled were due to some ‘technical’ reasons.

A union leader said all the non-executive staff participated in the strike and they would continue with their agitation till they reached a consensus with the management.

Staff Reporter writes from Malappuram: The strike did not have any impact on the Calicut International Airport, Karipur. No flight movement was disrupted owing to the strike by 116 employees, demanding that the existing airports at Bangalore and Hyderabad should not be closed after opening the green field airports there. Forty-four personnel of the Indian Air Force were deployed at Karipur to man the fire department, where 95 per cent of the employees belonged to the non-executive category. Airport Director Chinson Panakkal said that no flight was delayed because of the strike.

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